P&G's molding unit Imflux picks Cincinnati area headquarters

A new Procter & Gamble Co. injection molding subsidiary has chosen Hamilton, Ohio, as its headquarters.

Imflux Inc. was recently formed to develop innovative injection molding technology. It had scouted locations around West Chester, Ohio, to relocate from its birthplace in P&G’s Beckett Ridge Technical Center but decided to relocate in Hamilton, outside Cincinnati, where P&G is based.

Imflux has entered into a long-term lease agreement with Trident Capital Group, according to a short statement from the City of Hamilton. The announcement states that Imflux plans to create 221 jobs within three years at the site. The company is negotiating terms of a development agreement with the municipality.

“Imflux and its innovative plastic processing technology are an excellent addition to our growing advanced manufacturing sector,” Jody T. Gunderson, director of economic development for Hamilton, in a statement emailed to Plastics News.

Imflux spokeswoman Anna Hogan said in an email that the company hopes to begin production in summer of 2014. She declined to provide details of the move, deferring to Hamilton’s statement to the press.

Just what Imflux plans to do is open to speculation. The company emphasizes that it has numerous patents covering injection molding technology, from materials to molds to low-pressure molding, but has been tight-lipped about its intentions. It even suggests it could provide technology to non-competing businesses.

“Imflux is focused on delivering competitive advantage for P&G,” stated Hogan. “As such, we are working with our supply chain partners to deliver the system across P&G’s vast network of injection molded parts.”

P&G hopes to save $200 million annually through new injection molding technology. In a Nov. 5 report, news website Cincinnati.com quoted P&G Chief Financial Officer Jon Moeller saying the new technology could cut P&G’s resin usage by 100 million pounds per year and reduce electricity consumption by more than 250 million kilowatt hours a year.

P&G wants to save $6 billion of costs out of its supply chain and about $4.5 billion of that from materials savings.